Unesco has accepted this pm an application for the palafitte lake dwellers celtic sites of Central Europe, most of which are in Switzerland- and many on lake Neuchatel (see the great Lateinium Museum near St Blaise).

The lakeside settlements in the Alpine region count among the most important archaeological cultural assets in Europe. Because the pile-dwelling sites are shared by all Alpine nations, it was clear at the outset that candidacy for inscription in the World Heritage List must be serial and transnational.
The nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage will further increase the awareness of this extraordinary cultural heritage among the wider public. In addition, the international exchange of knowledge and experience with regard to the protection and presentation of pile-dwelling sites will be promoted in the context of the candidature.
The international candidature Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps is being staged under the auspices of the Swiss committee. All Alpine countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and of course, Switzerland, are involved. From about 1000 sites we actually know, the 111 with the greatest scientific potential have been chosen for this serial nomination.

I grew up spending my Summers diving to explore those sites and, I'm ashamed to say, collect any bits and pieces we found. As a student in the UK I discovered that the La Tène area has given its name to a whole civilisation, and that those sites are so important- so for me, it's great news.

The Germans, on the Bodensee, already in the 1950ies, established THIS
http://www.pfahlbauten.de/
splendid place. Sure, the Germans in the 1950ies were quite eager to place German history onto another platform than the one still in mind of most Europeans in those days ! But they did the job quite impressively

Interesting - the place where I grew up and where my interest in history and experimental archaeology was roused and nourished is also among the listed sites :-)

CH-ZH-08, Wetzikon–Robenhausen: Wetzikon–Robenhausen is characterized by the excellent preservation of organic remains. An unusual find was a board, which was probably a Pfyn-period door. The site is known for its evidence of textile production. It has yielded numerous excellently preserved organic finds assemblages, mainly of textiles as well as parts of a Neolithic loom.

http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-...and/index.html (listed under Zurich)

In England, our local Council is trying to nominate Hastings old town for World Heritage status. It is a nice area but nothing in comparison to the existing ones. This seems far more deserving.

This whole Unesco world heritage thing really gets out of hand IMO. It seems to me, that they have too many insignificant sites that are part of it and won't focus on the real important achievements of humanity.

Now I am curious (professional deformation, I am afraid)
What are sites showing the "real important achievements of humanity" in your eyes?

Don't you agree with the Lake Dwellers? Or are there already too many European sites for your taste?

It isn't my job to determine suitable sites...all I'm saying, there are too many insignificant places that have labelled as such. Heck, I think I even bought some gum once, that was considered Unesco world heritage (just kidding).

Nah, I don't agree with the lake dwellers...because they have been ingrained in much older cultures already and are still being used today. Therefore, a few shacks on some stilts somewhere in Europe hardly gets my nomination for it.

I just did some googling...and there are a total of 913 world heritage sites.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site